Netizen 24 AUS: 'No words': 17 dead in south Florida high school shooting; former student used high-powered rifle

'No words': 17 dead in south Florida high school shooting; former student used high-powered rifle

'No words': 17 dead in south Florida high school shooting; former student used high-powered rifleCLOSE

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says there are multiple casualties in a shooting at a high school in South Florida. (Feb. 14)

A former student went on a shooting rampage at a Florida high school on Wednesday, leaving 17 dead while panicked students barricaded themselves inside classrooms and frantic parents raced to the scene.

The gunman, who was expelled, was identified as 19-year-old Nikolaus Cruz. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Cruz was armed with âcountlessâ magazines and an AR-15 rifle.

Cruz was taken into custody miles from the school nearly two hours after the shooting started.

Fl anked by officers, the suspect was escorted into a police station wearing a hospital gown.

"This is catastrophic," Israel said. "There are really no words."

The shooting happened about 2 p.m. at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which is about 30 miles northwest of Fort Lauderdale, according to the Coral Springs Police Department.

Students said chaos ensued when a fire alarm sounded in the school near dismissal timeâ" then the gunfire started. Israel said Cruz started shooting outside then made his way through the school's hallways.

Television footage showed the terrifying moments outside the school. Students ran single file from the building with their hands in the air â" throwing backpacks into a large pile and huddling under trees across the street.

As students scrambled to safety, law enforcers with weapons drawn approached the building.

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The gunman was expelled from the school for âdisciplinary reasonsâ but Israel didnât elaborate.

Cameras captured authorities taking Cruz into custody and to a local hospital. Police described the gunman as someone who possibly attended the school and was a member of the JROTC program. Authorities said he was wearing a hoodie and has red hair.

Some students and teachers who fled the school told reporters they knew the former student and that he had guns.

As friends hiding from the shooter sent photos and videos over Snapchat to 19-year-old Jillian Davis, she started to recognize the suspect as a former classmate who had a history of making dark, gun-related jokes.

Cruz, a classmate who participated in Davis âs ninth grade JROTC group, was usually a quiet kid who kept to himself, but âthere was a lot of anger management issues there,â Davis said.

âFinding put it was him makes a lot of sense now,â she said.

Cruz would joke about shooting people or shooting up establishments, she added. At the time, she thought it was normal, violent teenage jokes. Cruz would also talk a lot about having guns and using them in different situations, she said.

Math teacher Jim Gard told the Herald he taught the suspect last year, who he said was troubled.

"We were told last year that he wasnât allowed on campus with a backpack on him,â Gard told the newspaper. âThere were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus.â

Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said it was a dark day in the county's history.

"It's a horrific situation. It's just a horrible d ay for us," he said. "...This is a day we prayed would never happen in our county."

He said every high school in the county has a police presence, adding there are typically two officers at every school.

At least 17 dead in school shooting in Parkland, Fla. Fullscreen

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Dalila Ladero, 16, of Coral Springs, Fla. stands near friends after being reunited with her mother at University Drive and Holmberg Road in Parkland. "When all that happened, I wasn't in my class, I just started following people...I was just seeing everyone screaming and crying and I didn't know what was happening," she said. "I was calm, I just started praying." Fullscreen Students wait outside the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen A student reacts as she talks to a television reporter following a school shooting. Fullscreen Students react at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following a school shooting. Fullscreen People react at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following a school shooting. Fullscreen Students react at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following a school shooting. Fullscreen Students run with their hands in the air following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen Students released from a lockdown walk away following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High Schoo l. Fullscreen A young woman gets a hug outside of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen Medical personnel tend to a victim following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen Medical personnel tend to a victim following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen Police officers ride in the back of a pick up truck as they tend to a victim following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen Medical personnel tend to a victim following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen Medical personnel tend to a victim following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen A parent talks on cellphone waiting for news after a reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen Students wait to be picked up after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen People hug following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen A member of the Broward County Sheriff's Office stands watch at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen Students released from a lockdown embrace following following a shooting at Marjor y Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen Fire rescue vehicles arrive at Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting. Fullscreen People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting. Fullscreen People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting. Fullscreen People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting. Fullscreen People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting. Fullscreen People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting. Fullscreen People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting. Fullscreen The campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting that reportedly killed and injured multiple people. Fullscreen Parents wait for news after a report of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Fullscreen A law enforcement officer tells anxious family members to move back. Fullscreen Anxious family members wait for information on students in Parkland, Fla. Fullscreen A student shows a law enforcement officer his phone. Fullscreen A law enforcement officer talks with students outside of the school. Fullscreen Family members embrace after a student walked out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fullscreen Anxious family members watch a rescue vehicle pass by in Parkland, Fla. Fullscreen Family members wait for news of students after a school shooting. Fullscreen In this frame grab from video from WPLG-TV, students from the Marj ory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., evacuate the school following a shooting. Fullscreen In this frame grab from video from WPLG-TV, students from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., evacuate the school following a shooting. Fullscreen In this frame grab from WPLG-TV, emergency personnel wheel an injured person from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., following a shooting Fullscreen In this frame grab from video from WPLG-TV, students from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., evacuate the school following a shooting. Fullscreen In this frame grab from video from WPLG-TV, students from the Marjory Stonem an Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., evacuate the school following a shooting. FullscreenReplay

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Worried parents crowded around the the school, some asking television crews what they should do to get information on their child, and students cried when they were reunited with their mothers and fathers. Some of the injured were treated on sidewalks and loaded into ambulances.

Twelve of the victims were found inside the school, two were killed outside and two others died in the hospital. One additional person was killed off the school's campus, Israel said.

Melissa Falkowski, a teacher at the school, told CNN she hid with her students in a closet until law enforcement cleared them. Footage on local television stations showed SWAT officers entering a classroom with guns drawn and students shaking and crying as they held up their hands.

More: Florida school shooting is the 6th to injure students this year

The White House released a statement as the tragedy was unfolding.

"The president has been made aware of the school shooting in Florida," deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters said. "We are monitoring the situation. Our thoug hts and prayers are with those affected."

The incident comes just weeks after a rampage at a rural Kentucky high school. A 15-year-old faces two counts of murder and 12 counts of first-degree assault after police said he killed two and wounded more than a dozen others in a shooting spree at Marshall County High School in Benton.